Burning Minds, Fading Hearts
by milk-weed
Summary: Two lost souls with secrets to hide. Can they reveal the truth before it's too late? NejixOC..maybe a few others later on? My first fanfic. Please R


Two lost souls with secrets to hide. Can they reveal the truth before it's too late? NejixOC..maybe a few others later on? My first fanfic. Please R&R, but don't hurt me!

Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto, I would be writing the manga, not a fanfic!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guards at Konoha gate gasped in shock. "Is that...?" "No. It can't be. Can it?"

Michiko and Riko sighed with relief as we walked through the gate of their home town. It had been a long time since they had come here. Being accepted into the Sagen Academy meant that they could only visit home every few years. The last time they walked through these gates was over 4 years ago. We were all 17 or 18 now.

"Ayumu! Stop daydreaming and hurry up! You'll miss the view!! You haven't been here since you were about eight, right?" Michiko's excited tones cut through my thoughts.

She was right though. The last time I was in Konoha was when my sister Masaki had died here. That was ten years ago. I had already been part of the Sagen Academy since I was four though, so her death didn't affect me much – or so I told everyone.

"Oh God Michi! You're giving me a headache, could you turn it down a bit?"  
"But aren't you just sooo excited Asuka? This is your first time to Konoha, right? Can't you show some excitement?"  
"Not really. It's sort of cold here." Suka was originally from the Sand village and the fourth member of our group. Together we were the 'four brightest and most beautiful students to ever grace the halls of the Sagen Academy' or so we were told. All the time.

Michi's full name is Michiko Oguri Hatake. Yes, she's Kakashi's younger sister. According to her it's a tough name to live up to. Michi has curly blonde hair, blue eyes and has the physique of a model, though she's actually the shortest of our group. Not that that's saying much considering we're all really tall (Michi is 5'9", myself and Riko are both 5'10" though Riko argues that she is taller, which she probably is, and Suka is 6" exactly).

Riko is Riko Nakamura Hyuuga. She is actually Neji Hyuuga's twin sister though she probably wouldn't admit it. Ko is also blonde; though hers is dyed (her hair is naturally a deep brown). Her hair is perfectly straight, and it used to be very long, but a couple of years ago she cut it VERY short and spiky because 'it gets in her eyes'. She has hazel eyes, and can use Byakugan, though she tries not to. To the teachers at the Sagen Academy, Kekkai Genkai are seen as crutches and therefore 'weak'.

Suka is Asuka Fujiwara. She has shoulder length, curly red-brown hair, and brown eyes. She has crow's feet from staring into the harsh desert sun so much as a child. She is Gaara's cousin.

And then there's me. Ayumu Saruwatari Masen. Blame the "Masen" part on having a Corsican mother. Odd coloured hair, one blue eye and one green eye. People think I'm cursed, but I'm not, it just comes with the heritage.

_I was standing at the gate waiting for my sister's arrival. Today was her first visit home in 4 years, and this time I was determined to surprise HER for once. Then I saw them, four incredibly tall, beautiful girls. Two of them I would know anywhere, even if Ko HAD dyed her hair blonde. But the other two, I didn't recognise at all. They were just laughing, meandering slowly towards the village gates.  
A fleck of gold caught my eye, and I followed its course, looking towards one of the four. The gold was the exact colour of her hair. It waved gently down her back, dancing in the breeze and catching the sunlight. Then she turned towards me, intelligent eyes the colour of sapphires and emeralds met mine, and I felt my jaw drop. She was the most beautiful, graceful and elegant woman I had ever set eyes upon. You couldn't even call her a girl, because while her hair betrayed vulnerability and her laughing eyes showed her playfulness, everything else about her spoke of great wisdom, power, a deep sadness and a mind well matured beyond her years._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well that's it for now! I hope you enjoy this. On the advice of my first ever reviewer, I was finally bothered enough to go through and change the names to some japanese ones. I also split up the paragraphs ALOT more than I normally would to try and make it easier to read! So this is actually the edited and improved second version of this story! Review and I might get off my butt and write some more!

Just for anyone who is wondering (such as my friend Katie who the character Michiko is based off) this is what their names mean (roughly. Its been like 2 years since I actually studied Japanese at school!so these could be completely wrong!):

**Fujiwara **- wisteria fields **Asuka** - fragrance of the bright day (or something like that!)

**Nakamaru** - centre of the village **Riko** - jasmine child

**Oguri** - little chestnut **Michiko** - child of a thousand beauties (seriously, this suits Katie down to a tee! She loves chestnuts(who knows why) and she seriously does look like a model -just a healthy one! Love you Katie! =] Coz I know you're reading this!)

and finally **Saruwatari** - monkey on a crossing bridge **Ayumu** - a person who follows their own path (also translated as just "walk" but how boring is that?!)

Well thanks for reading my boring Authors notes. And the story too =]

And my AN is now officially longer than the story =]


End file.
